Lost Heaven
by Lulu Veronica
Summary: With Ozai defeated, a new threat looms as Azula begins her conquest in Ba Sing Se. When Azula's army is too much for the group to take by themselves, they must reunite with old allies and new ones to get rid of her once and for all. [Post Series][Tokka]
1. To The Top Of The World

**Chapter 1 – To The Top Of The World**

Aang and Toph, about six yards apart, took their stances. Katara stood between them, hand raised. "Ready." Both nodded. "Steady." The avatar and the earth bender braced themselves. Katara threw down her hand, "GO!" and ran out of the line of fire as the pair began to practice.

Katara scampered to her brother's side and sat down next to him, laughing. "Go Aang!"

"No way." Sokka grinned broadly. "After all the water bending practice you put him through yesterday? Aang's got to be exhausted! Toph's totally going to win this one." Sokka looked out at the match. "Get 'im Toph!"

"You've got to be kidding. Aang'll totally take her in the second round." Katara laughed. The brother and sister continued their debate over who the winner would be as Aang and Toph continued shifting and bending the earth around themselves, competing to see who would give up first.

Their days had been like this a lot lately since Aang had defeated Fire Lord Ozai and set the world back into a state of peace. It had been four months since then. Katara's birthday had passed and they had thrown a celebration for her. The group still traveled around, helping any city or town that may still need them for whatever reason and making sure things were in order, but for the most part the four just practiced and enjoyed their peace.

"All right!" Aang laughed as Toph trapped him between two rocks. "You win! I give up!" Toph laughed and let Aang loose.

"Ha! Way to go, Toph!" Sokka cheered. "I told you she'd get him, Katara!" He got up, walking over and raising Toph's arm. "Today's winner, Toph!" Katara shook her head, getting up.

"All right, all right." Katara laughed, helping Aang. "We lost fair and square. We'll take care of dinner tonight." It had become an unspoken rule that the loser of the match, and whomever had cheered for them, would take care of that night's meal if they had no other plans. There were occasions that Toph and Sokka suspected that Aang let her win, since neither Toph nor Sokka were very good cooks, but a win was a win, and none of them really wanted food poisoning again.

As the four of them sat around the campfire enjoying their dinner, Toph put her food down and stood up. "Someone's coming." The other three drew their attention from the meal to Toph.

Aang stood up. "Just one person?"

Toph nodded. "An earth bender. I can tell by how heavily his steps are. But he's alone. About quarter of a mile that way." Toph turned, pointing to the north. "He's running now. He might have seen the smoke from our fire." Sokka and Katara also stood, readying themselves to fight if need be.

It was only a few moments before a tall, strong looking man broke through the northern line of trees, looking at the group he'd come across with a relieved expression. "It's only some kids."

Sokka frowned. "Hey! We're right here you know!"

Toph took a step back so she was closer to the group. Aang tilted his head. "Uhm, excuse me sir... Can we help you with something?"

The earth bender looked over at Aang and raised an eyebrow. "An arrow... and those clothes... You must be the Avatar." He frowned. "It would be in your best interest to come with me."

The four braced themselves, but suddenly Toph was distracted. Before she could open her mouth to warn the others, a tall woman burst from the tree line arms open wide. "Ozrin!! Are you scaring children again? What have I told you about that?" All attention was suddenly turned to her as she wrapped her arms around the stern man's neck. The woman stopped as she became the center of attention and put her hand on her hips, tilting her head to one side. "Oh, and they look absolutely _harmless_! Ozrin, aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

The man exhaled impatiently. "Captain, look at the one boy. He' the _Avatar_." The woman blinked, taking a step forward slowly, then walking towards Aang, circling him, examining him, until she had decided that her companion was right.

"So he is, so he is." She put her hand son her hips, standing straight and looking annoyed. "To think that the Avatar has finally wandered into our little base of operations." Aang frowned, leaning away from the strange woman, wondering why she looked so unhappy with him. She whirled on her heel, her long hair, the color of the sea at night, as well as her green-blue dress flew out behind her, giving her a sense of elegance. The rigid earth bender turned to follow her. The "Captain" looked over her shoulder at Aang. "You and your party would do best to come with us, Avatar."

"Wait! Why? Who are you guys?" Aang frowned. His friends were still poised to fight. The woman exhaled, looking back up the trail that her partner had formed into the mountains.

"I need to speak with you, and I could very much use the Avatar's advice right now on a very important matter," the woman said solemnly. She and her earth bender continued up the trail. Aang sighed and looked at the others.

"What do you guys think?"

Toph nodded. "She's telling the truth. We should at least try." She relaxed her stance, walking past Aang and after the pair into the woods. Aang nodded.

"Alright then." He headed after them, Katara quickly following after. Momo lifted his head from his position on top of Appa's head and flew after Aang, landing on his shoulder.

"Wait!! What about our stuff?" Sokka pointed back at their campsite. The tall woman looked back, then to her companion.

"Ozrin, you and the young water tribe man stay here and pack up their camp. You can meet us back at the base." She exhaled impatiently. The earth bender nodded and turned, walking back past the group and began packing up the camp. Sokka frowned bitterly and showed him how they packed things, keeping a close eye out to make sure he didn't steal anything from them as he lost sight of his friends and his sister.

"So... Who are you again?" Aang asked, picking up his pace so he was alongside the tall woman. He had to keep his quick pace to match her long strides.

"My name is Lo'nee, but those in my company call me Captain out of respect. I come from the North Pole originally, but it's been many years since I've gotten the chance to be there." She tilted her head at Aang. "I am a seer, a soothsayer... One in touch with spiritual beings. I was raised and trained with the knowledge to interpret the motions and ways of the guardians of the Moon and the Ocean."

"The black and white koi!" Aang exclaimed, remembering the fish, and Yue. Lo'nee nodded.

"Yes, the koi, Tui and La. Over the years I've applied that training and wisdom to other things and formed a small, but effective group of freedom fighters. Ozrin is my closest officer and friend. I apologize if he frightened you." She laughed a bit. "He may seem scary, but once you get to know him he's actually just a big fuzz ball. He's harmless unless he's fighting."

"Kinda like Sokka?" Toph raised an eyebrow. Lo'nee laughed a bit.

"I'm afraid I don't know him well enough to make a judgment." Lo'nee smiled. "Though from the stories I've heard, I could only guess they're rather similar in that respect." Lo'nee stopped as they came upon a cliff side and put her hands on her hips. "Oh right, Ozrin is back helping to clean up your camp. We'll have to take the long way in." She followed the length of the cliff, keeping a hand on it. "Hmm, now where did we hide that entrance?"

"You live in a cliff?" Aang tilted his head to one side. Lo'nee glanced sideways at the Avatar with a grin.

"We're a rogue army, Avatar. The fire nation is always on the alert about us. We need to keep our base hidden." Lo'nee looked up the cliff side, examining it closely.

"But we've already beaten Ozai." Katara sounded surprised. "We're all safe now."

"Ozai is gone, but that witch daughter of his isn't." Lo'nee frowned. "She still has a few troops loose in this region, and I'm sure she's working on plans for a larger assault." Katara frowned, looking ahead at Aang, who seemed to be just as disturbed by the news as she was.

Toph stopped. "The entrance is here, I think. It's hollow behind this part of the wall." Lo'nee looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at the young earth bender. Toph exhaled and rolled her eyes. "I can feel the vibrations in the ground, and the vibrations here are different because there's a hallway behind this part of the wall instead of solid rock."

"Well aren't you the clever one." Lo'nee grinned. "That's quite the useful skill." Toph bent open the entryway and Lo'nee lead them inside. "I should warn you, just so you don't panic, two members of our group are fire benders, and one is a fire nation deserter." Lo'nee navigated the tunnels, explaining the lives of her three fire nation comrades. "Mera's village was commandeered by Ozai and destroyed to be rebuilt as a station for manufacturing weapons. Many members of her village died because of this. And thus Mera joined us.

"Thule and his brother Lee are twins. I don't know many of the details behind it, but their father was from the northern water tribe, and their mother was a fire nation deserter. I believe both of them have since passed, so I am taking care of them now. Jing... Er..." She looked away, scratching the back of her head. "Well we know Jing is loyal to us and that's all that really matters."

Katara grinned, knowing the look on Lo'nee's face. "He likes you, doesn't he?"

Lo'nee sighed heavily. "He's thick in in the head, as most men tend to be. We started as enemies, he misinterpreted something I said in battle and decided to switch sides." Lo'nee smiled. "But he works as a double agent for us. That's how we've gotten by for so long."

"What about the rest of your army? How many others do you have?" Aang asked, curious, as they rounded what had to have been the fiftieth corner since they had entered the maze.

"There's Thule's brother, Lee, who is a water bender like myself, and Mera's husband Aron, as well as his brother Edju. The two of them are earth benders like Ozrin. So in total there are eight of us." Lo'nee counted on her fingers.

"Eight? Thats it?" Katara blinked. "Are you sure you can fight the fire nation with just eight people?"

"You'd be surprised what eight people can do, even if none of them are the Avatar." Lo'nee smiled, rounding another corner into a large open room. There was a fire pit in the center, tended by a young, red-haired woman, several make shift beds, some tables, chairs, and counters – everything needed to make up a small home.

The red-haired woman looked over her shoulder as the group entered. "Captain!" She smiled. Everyone else in the room looked up from their various activities, welcoming their leader home.

Lo'nee smiled, stepping out of the way of her guests. "Everyone, I would like you to meet the Avatar and his companions. They will be our guests for as long as they would like to stay." Everyone gathered around, a tall man moving to put his arm around Lo'nee, and promptly getting shoved away. "Ozrin will be back soon with the Avatar's other friend and their bison."

One of the two young boys in the room looked up at Aang as if examining him. "He's got an arrow on his head, Captain."

Lo'nee laughed and nodded. "Yes, Thule. Yes he does. Why don't you help our guests get settled in? I should go find Ozrin and the other boy. Mera, you and your husband keep an eye on things here. Don't let it get _too_ out of hand."

Mera nodded. "Of course, Captain. You can count on us." Lo'nee nodded, heading back through the tunnels.

Lo'nee waved as she saw the boys and the bison coming up the trail. "It took you boys long enough." She laughed. Ozrin huffed, but gave no verbal response. Lo'nee grinned at him, then tilted her head at Sokka, something about him tugging at the back of her mind where the wisdom of La and Tui was kept. The nagging came form the top of her head rather than the bottom, so she guessed it was the moon fish who was trying to command her attention. "I need to meditate on something when we get back. Ozrin, see to it that I am not disturbed."

"The fish again?" Ozrin frowned.

"I'd like if you spoke of them with a bit more respect, but yes. Tui, specifically." Lo'nee rest her forehead in her hand. "I have no idea what thous could be about."

"Fish... Tui?" Sokka blinked, and after a bit of quick math exclaimed, "The koi spirits from the north pole?!"

Lo'nee nodded. "Right, you weren't there when I explained it you your friends. I am a seer who was trained at the north pole with the water sages under the wisdom of La and Tui. But I left long ago and started my freedom fighters. I retruned breifly to help rebuild after the seige on the city, but I came back here afterward." Lo'nee blinekd at Sokka. "I have a deep mental connection with the spirit koi, and on occasion when I need it they share their wisdom with me."

Sokka reached forward and grabbed Lo'nee's wrist. "C-Can you talk back to them?" Lo'nee looked back at Sokka, frowning at the almost desperate expression on his face. Ozrin moved to push him away but Lo'nee shook her head.

"It's all right, Ozrin. Yes, Sokka, when I meditate I can speak back to them." She said softly. "Is there... something you'd like me to say for you?"

Sokka nodded a little, looking away from her. "Can you tell Yue that I'm sorry?" Lo'nee opened her mouth to say something, then shut it and tilted her head to one side.

She thought back on what the elders had told her about the attack on their city. She remember hearing about the Avatar and his friends saving the city, and how one of the Avatar's friends had worked so hard to protect Princes Yue... and how she had givenher life to Tui to save the spirit. Lo'nee managed a smile and nodded, "I'll let her know." Sokka forced himself to return the smile, letting go of the water bender's wrist.

Lo'nee continued up the path to the cliff side, falling back a bit to walk beside Ozrin. The earth bender tilted his head at her and grunted. Lo'nee laughed and shook her head. "Let us in, Ozrin." He nodded bending open an entrance in the cave leading to the hallways that Lo'nee had taken the others through earlier.

Everyone looked at the trio and the bison as they reentered the cave. Jing stared at the bison and hid behind the twins. "What the hell is that?!"

"It's a bison, Jing." Lo'nee rolled her eyes. "Calm down."

"Appa!" Aang smiled, running over and patting his bison on the nose. Momo chittered and flew over, landing on Appa's head.

Lo'nee exhaled, "Ozrin, if you could bend a space for the bison, and somewhere for me to meditate." Ozrin nodded, setting to bend two new annexes into their little home. The twins took their attention off of Appa and looked over at Lo'nee.

"Is it the fish again?" Thule ran over, closely followed by Lee.

"Which one is it this time? We can't hear them!" Lee tugged on her arm. Mera rose, clapping her hands together.

"All right boys that's enough! Dinner's ready!" Mera put her hands on her hips, shuffling the boys away from their Captain. "Go do your meditations, Captain. I'll bring some food to you in a while."

"Thank you Mera." Lo'nee nodded, making her way to the smallerof the two annexes, taking a seat and folding her hands in her lap. Aang lead Appa to were hed be resting, taking a last look at the meditating water bender, wondering what was the matter. Everyone else gathered around Mera and Aron to get their rations for the evening. They sat down to dinner and listened to the Avatar and his friends tell stories of their travels.


	2. Life Ain't Always Beautiful

**Chapter 2 – Life Ain't Always Beautiful**

After dinner, many members of the group played small games off in their various cliques, or just settled in to get some sleep. Those who didn't go to sleep followed suit within the hour. The fire pit burned dimly as the Avatar group and the freedom fighters slept and Lo'nee finally came out of her meditation. She rose with a soft groan and stretched, walking to the fire pit where Mera had left a plate of dinner on the rack to keep warm. She ate quietly, not bothering to lift her head as Sokka walked over and sat down next to her. "I'm not fond of phony fortune tellers you know."

"Neither am I." Lo'nee continued eating. "They make those of us who do it for real look bad." Sokka frowned sternly at Lo'nee, who shrugged with indifference. "If you doubt my abilities, that's your decision. But apparently you're the one Tui was so desperate to speak to me about."

Sokka's disbelief and hesitation vanished at her statement. "R-Really?"

"I told her that you apologized. She doesn't want you feeling sorry for yourself over this any longer. Neither of your lady friends do. What was the other one's name... Saki? Suri?" She gnawed on the end of her spoon. "Sali?"

"Suki!?" Sokka blinked widely.

"That was it!" Lo'nee smiled. "Suki! Yes, she doesn't want you feeling bad about her loss either. She had Tui relay that message." Sokka looked completely shaken by the news. Lo'nee reached out, patting him on the shoulder. "You're still young Sokka. Live enough for you, Yue, and Suki."

Sokka frowned bitterly and looked away. "How am I supposed to do that? Neither of them were much older than me. They deserved to live just as much as I do!" He shoved Lo'nee away from him, glaring at her. "So why shouldn't I feel bad that I couldn't protect them?!"

Lo'nee exhaled carefully, lifting her eyes to Sokka. "Yue made the choice to give her life back to Tui. That part of her destiny was sealed, and could not have been changed by any circumstance." She spoke in a stern, solid voice. "You protected her and let her get to that point in her life. You did protect her, and to this day she is grateful for it. I'm afraid I can't speak much for your Suki, but I'm sure that you did all you could for her as well, and that the fates just decided it was her time. From what Tui has told me, she holds no blame over you for it."

Sokka reached out, seeking solace in this stranger who could tell him things he'd wanted to know for so long. Lo'nee smiled, wrapping her arms around the boy that one of her spirits felt so strongly toward. "It's all right," she cooed. "Everything is all right now. No more crying." Lo'nee exhaled, giving Sokka a comforting pat on the back.

"Y-You said you're a fortune teller, right? A real one?" Sokka sat back, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

"A seer," Lo'nee corrected him with a smile. "I prefer to be called a seer."

"Then you can tell me the future?" Sokka tilted his head at her, calming down. His shoulders felt lighter now that he knew both Yue and Suki had forgiven him.

Lo'nee shook her head. "No, I cannot tell you the future, because the entirety of the future is not set in stone. There are specific points, such as Yue returning her life to Tui, that are destined to happen, but when and why is never certain. All I can tell for sure is what has been, and what currently is." Lo'nee finished eating and set her plate aside. "I'd be happy to tell you that if you're interested."

"What's so exciting about knowing the past and the present? I've been there for all of that." Sokka frowned. Lo'nee laughed at him.

"And yet you couldn't figure out that Yue never lay any blame on you for her death. I believe there are a lot of things about the past and the present both that you are unaware of because of your insecurities." Lo'nee got a bowl of water and set to washing her dishes. Sokka frowned, not really liking how she talked about him, but he realized she was probably right.

"Fine, tell me what you can." Sokka exhaled, looking away from her, somewhat annoyed that he was even bothering. He remembered Aunt Wu, and he still didn't believe there was much stock to be had in her. But this woman did seem a little more real than Aunt Wu. Maybe she was just telling him what he wanted to hear, but she had to know something. When she'd brought up the spirit koi, she hadn't even been talking to him.

Lo'nee smiled reaching out and taking Sokka's hand, pressing her thumb against his palm. "Hmm. You have a very strong aura, amber colored mostly, but there are various other shades, terra-cotta, sky blue... You're very brave." The smile faded and she tilted her head. "But all throughout your aura is a charcoal color. You cannot keep feeling sad for your losses. You need to gather your mass strength and live."

"You've said that already." Sokka huffed.

"I know, but you need to commit it to memory, and repetition is the only way to get through to boys like you." Lo'nee exhaled. "Love is an energy, it does not die. It just finds another source." Lo'nee lifted her eyes and looked at Sokka directly. "There is a love waiting for you right in front of your eyes."

Sokka raised an eyebrow and drew back. "You're not talking about yourself are you?" Lo'nee blinked, then broke into laugher.

"Oh, _heavens_ no!" She shook her head, trying not to laugh at him further. "No, no, no. I'm afraid it's not that literal. There is already a man who's taken my heart." Lo'nee briefly let her gaze drift to where Ozrin had fallen asleep, then shook her head. "You'll have to think on it a little more. Get some rest." Lo'nee put the dishes away. Sokka nodded, heading back toward where the others had set up camp around Appa.

"Thanks for the advice." Sokka looked back at her, "And good luck."

Lo'nee nodded, smiling. "Thank you, I'm sure I'll need it." Sokka returned to his sleeping bag, looking over at Toph. She'd wrapped herself up in a blanket and was propped up against one of Appa's legs. Sokka blinked, scratching his nose. She was kind of cute, all curled up like she was. He shook his head and got back into his sleeping bag.

When Aang and the others awoke in the morning, the freedom fighters were already up. Mera, Aron, and Edju were making breakfast, Thule and Lee were playing a card game, and Lo'nee and Ozrin were off to the side discussing something that looked important.

Aang walked towards them, stopping and looking down at Lee as he grabbed his leg. "We're gonna have to go soon."

Katara frowned. "What?"

Thule put down a card. "They got a message real early from Jing. We're all gonna leave for Ba Sing Se tonight and meet Jing half way. He'll fill us in on the details then."

"How do you know all of that?" Aang blinked. "There's no way you can hear them from all the way over here." Lee shook his head, playing a card in response to Thule's.

"Not both of them, just the Captain." Lee looked over the spread cards as Thule made another play. "She's really worried. I think that the fire nation is up to something in Ba Sing Se."

Toph dug her foot into the ground beneath her. "She's worried about something, that's for sure." She tilted her head in the direction of the Captain. "Should we go talk to them?"

"Nuh-uh." Lee put down another card. "Let 'em be. The only one she likes talking to when stuff is going on is Ozrin, because he doesn't talk much. So she doesn't have to worry about being scared and him criticizing her."

Thule nodded. "Ozrin's been with the Captain the longest, so he's the only one she thinks she can be scared around. She thinks if she lets the rest of us know she's worried about something, then we'll all fall apart. She wants to be strong because she's the leader." Thule grinned, putting down his last card. "I win."

"Aww," Lee whined. "I never win this game!"

Katara frowned, kneeling down so she was at eye level with the twins. "How can you tell what they're talking about?"

"I told you already." Lee huffed, gathering the cards and shuffling them for another game. "Not both of them, just the Captain. Weren't you listening?" He dealt a hand to Thule and then one for himself.

"Well then how do you know what she's talking about?" Katara growled, frustrated. Lee frowned, playing the first card.

"You wouldn't get it. It's complicated." Lee looked over Thule's move. "Ah man, I swear you always get all the good cards."

Katara raised an eyebrow and pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Aang. "I run around with _him_ all the time. Try me."

Aang blinked widely. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing! Just that some pretty weird stuff has happened to us because you're the Avatar." Katara laughed awkwardly. Lee and Thule both looked up from their game at the group of four. Lee looked back at his hand of cards and huffed.

"Me and Thule and the Captain are all linked up here." He tapped the side of his head, then blinked. "Or maybe it's in here." He patted his chest over his heart. "I'm not really sure which. But one of the two."

"Linked?" Aang tilted is head to one side, kneeling down next to Katara. Thule nodded, playing another move that put him ahead of Lee.

"I generally mind my own business but it's harder for Lee 'cause he's closer to the Captain than me. But I can hear her too if I want to, or if she's real upset like right now." Thule explained, "Captain saved Lee a long time ago, like the moon koi saved the Princess. "

"Not exactly like that," Lee interrupted with a huff.

"Hush! I'm telling the story!" Thule frowned.

Sokka shook his head. "There's no need, kid." He looked over at Lo'nee and Ozrin, "We know about the moon koi and Yue."

Thule shrugged as Lee put down a card, and he countered it. "I win again."

"You've gotta be cheating!" Lee frowned.

"Am not!" Thule glared at him. Sokka watched as Lo'nee looked over at the group, then said something to Ozrin. He raised an eyebrow as Ozrin took off his jacket and put it around the Captain's shoulders. She looked startled for a moment, then smiled and walked over.

"That's enough arguing, boys. Clean up the cards and help Ozrin get things ready to go. We leave at sundown." Lo'nee tilted her head at Aang. "Are you and your friends coming as well? We could use your help."

Aang stood up straight, looking up at Lo'nee. "What's going on?"

Lo'nee held the jacket around herself. "Something is going on in Ba Sing Se. Jing couldn't get too much information without seeming suspicious, but he told us we should hurry. We're going to meet between the inner and outer walls."

Aang nodded. "We'll go and do what we can." He looked at Katara, Sokka, and Toph, who all nodded their agreement. Lo'nee smiled.

"We greatly appreciate the help, Avatar." Lo'nee looked at her troops as they prepared to go. "Pack your camp and ready your bison. Once everyone is ready we'll go over the plans and then rest until sundown."

Lee grinned at Lo'nee. "What'd you do to get the jacket this time, Captain?"

Lo'nee smiled awkwardly. "There's probably going to be a fight. It was just for luck." Lee grinned and shook his head, then ran off with Thule to help Ozrin pack for the trip. Lo'nee looked back at Aang. "I'll check in with you in a bit. I need to speak with the others."

"Right. We'll go get our things together." Aang nodded, leading the others back to Appa.

Toph helped Sokka roll up the sleeping bags. "Is it just me or did she get very nervous when that kid asked her about the jacket?"

Sokka laughed. "Oh... Well Ozrin gave it to her. It's probably just because she has a thing for him, that she got nervous about Lee asking."

Toph raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"She told me about it when I talked to her last night." Sokka blinked.

"You talked to her last night?" Toph tilted her head as they headed back to Appa behind Aang and Katara. "When?"

Sokka scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. He hadn't planned on telling anyone about that any time soon, especially Toph. He wasn't sure why he wanted to keep it a secret from her, but something about it just made his insides feel very tangled when he thought about it. "It was last night, after everyone had gone to sleep." He smiled awkwardly. "I sorta have this thing about fortune tellers... And then she started talking about the moon koi, and about Suki and Yue and --"

"Yeah, yeah," Toph cut him off, sounding almost a little bitter at the mention of the only two girls Sokka ever seemed to care about. She begrudgingly remembered the Serpent's Pass, and how he had never thanked her for saving his life there.

Sokka shut his mouth and frowned, unsure of what he'd done to provoke such a reaction from Toph. "Toph, I--"

"Hey, Sokka!" He was cut off again, this time by Aang. "Can you help me with some of this stuff?" Sokka looked over at Toph, who huffed and shoved him in Aang's direction. Sokka frowned at her.

"Go help twinkle-toes. We can talk later." Toph stalked off to help Katara. Sokka turned, walking over to Aang, climbing up onto Appa's back to help tie down their supplies.

Katara tilted her head at Toph as she sat down and rolled up her sleeping bag, muttering. Katara put down the bag of supplies she'd gathered and walked over to Toph. "Are you alright?"

"Why is your brother such a _jerk_, Katara?" Toph huffed. Katara sighed and sat down next to Toph, patting her on the back.

"What did he say this time?"

"All he ever talks about is Suki and Yue! Would it _kill_ him to notice _me_ for once!?" Toph hissed bitterly, tying her sleeping bag so it wouldn't unroll. Katara shook her head, having heard this from Toph several times before. The two girls, because of their gender, had become good friends in the time they'd been together, and it had been Katara that Toph had confided in to tell of her feelings for Sokka not long after they crossed the Serpent's Pass.

"Toph, I've said this a hundred times. My brother is _dumb_." Katara exhaled patiently. "If you don't say something to him, he's not going to get it. He's so caught up in his guilt over Suki and Yue's deaths that he's not paying attention to anything else. Especially since he hasn't had anything else to think about lately."

"He could think about _me_." Toph growled.

"You know what I mean!" Katara rolled her eyes, picking up the sleeping bags. "If you really like my brother so much, talk to him about it." She then left Toph to finish packing their supplies while she brought the sleeping bags to Aang and Sokka.

Toph frowned, gathering up their bags and various things. It's not as if she didn't _want_ to say something to Sokka, but the only girls he cared about were Suki and Yue. She didn't fit in to that little scene. Maybe she should just give up on it, but that was easier said than done. For half the summer and the four months since then, Toph had been secretly harboring these feelings. She was slowly making it to the breaking point.


	3. A Single Battle Lost

**Chapter 3 – A Single Battle Lost**

The time came and the group set out to rendezvous with Jing, proceeding off the trail so as not to be seen by anyone that might be around. It was possibly half of a mile outside of Ba Sing Se when Lo'nee stopped. She put her thumb and forefinger to her lips and whistled sharply. There was several moments of silence before the sound was returned. Lo'nee nodded and waved the group forward out onto the main trail. Jing came out from the tree line on the other side of the trail and made his way to the group. Lo'nee looked around. "You're sure you weren't followed?"

Jing nodded, taking a look around to make sure. "Yeah, Captain. No one else around." Toph dug her heel into the ground, just to make sure.

"He's right, no one followed him. We're the only ones around here," Toph assured them. Lo'nee tilted her head at Toph, remembering her unusual skill, and gave a calm nod.

"All right then, Jing. Please tell us what's going on."

The fire nation deserter took a deep breath. "Azula is assembling troops to launch an assault on the towns around Ba Sing Se in order to further her territory. She's brought in numerous troops from the fire nation already. She's launching the assault tomorrow. We have until morning to stop it." Murmurs went through the group and Aang stepped up.

"How many are we up against?"

"I'm not completely sure. Maybe close to a hundred?" Jing scratched the back of his head.

Sokka gasped, "There is no way that twelve of us could take on one hundred people! Not even with the Avatar!"

"Eleven," Lo'nee corrected. "Jing cannot fight for our side, or else they will find out he is a double agent." The tall woman pulled a frustrated hand through her hair. She tilted her head at Aang and his group. "The four of you are our key to winning this fight. Are you still with us?"

Aang raised an eyebrow at Lo'nee and nodded. "Of course."

Katara stepped up in agreement. "That's right. We said we'd fight with you, and we plan to."

"It's not like we haven't done the same thing a hundred times before." Toph shrugged.

Sokka took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. We're in."

Lo'nee nodded, turning back to Jing. "Alright, get back to the city. We'll be moving in soon. If we move in before all of the troops assemble, we won't have to fight all of them, just whatever Azula has on hand."

Jing nodded and gave a salute. "She has maybe 25 soldiers on hand at the moment, Captain. Make your way in through the back of the city." He looked to the sky. "It's cloudy... If you could take the Avatar's bison above the clouds, you could probably make it around to the back of the city without being noticed at all."

"And what about you?" Katara tilted her head at Jing. The soldier gave a grin and turned to head back up the trail.

"I'm just making my rounds. Nothing out of the ordinary." Jing waved over his shoulder. Lo'nee exhaled and herded the group back into the trees. She looked over the group, hands on her hips.

"All right. Avatar Aang, I want you and Katara with me. We're going in straight for Azula." She tilted her head at Toph and Sokka. "I'd like you two to take the left side of the field. Thule and Lee will be taking the right, Ozrin and Edju will be taking the back, and Aron and Mera will take the front." She tilted her head to the last four of her fighters that she'd mentioned. "It's up to the four of you to make a way in for us." Ozrin gave a strong nod. Lo'nee looked to Appa. "Aang, can your bison carry us all to the other end of the city?"

Appa blinked and walked up to Appa, patting him on the nose. "Think you can do it, boy? I know there's a lot of us, but it's not that far." Appa nodded and gave a loud 'mrah'. Aang smiled. "That's a good boy. Okay everyone, get on!" Aang jumped up, using the air to push himself higher until he landed on Appa's head. Katara helped the group onto Appa, since none of them seemed all too sure how to get on the bison's back. Sokka took Toph by the shoulder to help her but she shoved him away, still a bit angry from the night before, earth bending her way onto Appa. Sokka frowned and climbed up Appa's tail.

Aang looked over his shoulder. "Is everyone ready?" He saw a few nods and grabbed Appa's reigns. "Then hold on tight. Appa, yip yip!" Appa mrred and took off, heading directly up above the clouds.

Thule and Lee looked over the side in awe. Lee looked back at Lo'nee. "Captain! Captain, we're _flying_!" Lo'nee folded her hands in her lap and nodded calmly.

"Yes, Lee, it seems we are." She looked around at the others. Edju seemed to be trying to figure out exactly _how_ the giant bison was flying. Mera was clinging to Aron's arm, trying to pretend that they were on the ground. Lo'nee smiled and shook her head a bit. She exhaled and tilted her head at Katara, Sokka, and Toph. The three were seated at the front of the saddle discussing quietly with Aang exactly what was going on. Katara leaned on the side of the saddle, facing Aang. Sokka talked over his shoulder, leaning back against the side. Toph held onto Sokka's arm, talking in whatever direction her friends seemed to respond to.

Aang looked over the side and exhaled. "The only problem with traveling up here is that I can't tell where we're supposed to be landing." Toph sighed.

"If we were on the ground I could feel how far it was." Toph tilted her head back a bit.

"Well, it's dark. I bet if we went just below the clouds they wouldn't notice us." Sokka looked back at Aang again. "Just a minute or so couldn't hurt, just so we could get our bearings."

Aang nodded. "I guess you're right." He tugged the reigns a bit, leading Appa down through the clouds, thankful that his companion had white fur and could blend in with the clouds so easily. He looked over as Ba Sing Se became clear again. There was still a little ways to go before they could land.

It was a long, silent fifteen minutes before Aang guided Appa down behind the palace of Ba Sing Se. There didn't seem to be anyone around. Azula was probably having all of her soldiers resting up for the assault in the morning. The group dismounted Appa and split into their planned teams for the attack. Ozrin and Aron's teams went around the north side of the palace while Lo'nee and Aang lead the others around the south side.

The teams met back around the front. Lo'nee took a deep breath, looked over the teams, and then made her way in. Aang and Katara followed close behind, exchanging worried glances. Everything was just _too_ quiet. The group reached the main hall of the palace, a few hallways before the throne room, when they found themselves stopped by a line of fire benders and Dai Li soldiers.

The group of soldiers parted, and with sarcastic applause, Azula stepped forward. "Well, well. What do we have here? My little problem rebels _and_ the Avatar? What a wonderful way to kick off my conquest."

Lo'nee took a step backward, bracing herself. Azula had just opened herself right up and put herself in the path of the enemy. She was either brave or incredibly dumb – possibly both. Lo'nee didn't dare glance at the others at the risk of losing the element of surprise. She knew Azula wasn't going to move first, or she would have by now.

Lo'nee growled and threw herself at Azula, pulling water from a pouch at her hip. Azula leaped back, bending fire to both fend off and attack her enemy. Aang and Katara nodded to each other and ran in, joining the assault. Mera and Aron ran in, attacking the soldiers that tried to go in and separate the attackers from Azula. Thule and Lee ran to one side, and Sokka grabbed Toph and headed off to the other, the four pushing back soldiers. Ozrin and Edju fell back, taking the remaining soldiers.

"It really is pathetic." Azula laughed. "Even with three of you, you can't keep up with me." The fire bender grinned, leaning out of the way when Katara joined the attack, and used the force of Aang's air bending to propel herself at Lo'nee.

Sokka took one last glance at the beginning of the fight before he came to the realization that he and Toph had enough problems of their own. They'd been surrounded by a group of eight soldiers, some fire benders, some earth benders. Toph and Sokka stood back to back, bracing themselves to fight.

Toph was suddenly glad for the years she'd spent fighting in the Earth Rumble competitions. That was the only experience she had against other earth benders. Even so, she knew it would be rough dealing with earth benders and fire benders at the same time. Toph was thankful that she didn't have to fight alone.

Sokka tilted his head, looking over his shoulder at Toph. Her blindness had never been an issue before, but the young water tribe man couldn't help but feel concerned. He clutched his war club and set his weight on his back foot. Toph set her attention behind her for a second and gently elbowed Sokka in the back, a signal that she was ready to move when he was. Sokka shifted his foot backward in response. He tapped his heel once, twice, and then the earth bender and the warrior launched at Azula's men.

Sokka glanced at one solider, recognizing him as Jing, the soldier who secretly worked for Lo'nee and the others. Sokka grinned, taking his time with the other men. Jing grinned back at him. He hoped that Toph could tell who the one soldier was, and that he wasn't an enemy. On occasion Jing would bump one of his fellow soldiers, incidentally helping their enemy. He would grin and give an "Oops! Sorry!" and then resume fighting.

As the battle raged on, more soldiers were woken up and the numbers were steadily growing. The numbers were becoming harder and harder for the small group of freedom fighters to keep up with. Toph and Sokka were pressed back to back again, glaring down the soldiers that surrounded them. The numbers had doubled at least since the fight started, and they only showed signs of growing further.

"Stop worrying," Toph huffed at Sokka, slamming a rock into one soldier, ducking back out of the way of some fire as another attacked. "Focus on the fight. We don't have time to worry about anything else." Sokka looked over at her and stared for a moment until she shoved him out of the way of a rock. "I said pay attention!"

"Right!" Sokka looked back at the fight and went back in to attack. He wanted to be concerned for Toph, who seemed to be struggling more than he was, and for Katara and Aang, who's progress he couldn't tell at the moment, but Sokka knew that Toph was right. If he didn't fight his hardest, there wouldn't be anything left for him to worry about.

Sokka grinned as he heard the ground crack and saw water from the underground pipes break through the surface. He'd underestimated Lo'nee as a bender. A great many of the soldiers ran back from where Azula was fighting, and Sokka was able to get a glimpse of Azula stumbling backward as Lo'nee bent the water from the pipes into a great dragon. Of course the moment of uncertainty didn't last very long as Azula ran back in for the attack. Sokka was forced to look away and resume fending off the attacking soldiers.

Unfortunately, the dragon had connected with the ground, and the vibrations it gave off distracted Toph while she tried to figure out what in the name of the heavens it was. While she stared off in that direction, one of the earth benders hurled a boulder at her. It connected with her upper back and shoulders, knocking her forward into Sokka.

Sokka turned around. "Toph!" He picked Toph up and set her on her feet, but she was out cold. Sokka frowned, doing his best to hold up Toph and keep both of them from getting injured. Edju noticed Sokka struggling and tilted his head towards the center of the battle.

"Captain! Man down!" Edju shouted into the fray. Lo'nee looked over her shoulder, leaning backward in Edju's direction, catching a glimpse of Sokka and his struggle. In the entire time she'd lead her freedom fighters, Lo'nee had taught herself to spread her attention. She had forced herself to learn to never take her eyes off of the fight at hand, but having four extra fighters on the field caused her attention to spread too thin. Lo'nee was unable to divide her attention in a way so as to keep her eyes on her fight, as well as her men. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to give an order, but in the instant she took her eyes from Azula, the fire bender pulled out her secret weapon, and bent lightning at Lo'nee. It was attracted to the dragon, and followed through that to the water bender. It was only by quick thinking and strong will and force of chi that Lo'nee was able to direct it away from her heart. Beyond that, it caused her conscious body to shut down.

The entire battle field, the freedom fighters and Azula's men, all stopped their fighting to look at what had happened. The dragon bent from the water splashed to the ground into an enormous puddle. Azula stood triumphant over her enemy. The seconds passed like minutes until Ozrin came to his senses and shouted across the field. "MANEUVER B-1!"

Mera and Thule's heads both snapped up and the two began bending fire at the ground, setting ablaze whatever they could to create smoke. Aron, Edju, and Ozrin all stirred up a dust cloud. That cover was enough for Ozrin to move in and get Lo'nee, pulling her arm around his shoulders, taking her up by the waist, and heading in the direction opposite their base. They would take cover until things had cleared, and then head back. The others took off in whatever direction they happened to be facing.

As the smoke cleared, Jing stared off in the direction he knew Ozrin had taken the Captain. He was concerned, afraid she might die. Those around him were celebrating the victory, and when he noticed he'd caught Azula's eye, he tried to look proud and glad at what had happened, but from the curious expression on the Lordess of the Fire Nation's face, he was sure he wasn't doing a good job. He made a vow to himself to not give up Lo'nee and his friends to Azula no matter what she did to him. Even if it meant his life.

It was sunset by the time all of the freedom fighters had reconvened in their base outside of Ba Sing Se. Ozrin was seated in a far corner of the base with their injured leader. He held her in his lap, trying to keep her weight off of her injury. Lee and Katara were doing the best they could using the healing properties of water bending, but it didn't seem to be doing much good.

Sokka sat where they had camped the night before, leaning back against Appa's leg and holding Toph much like Ozrin was holding Lo'nee. Aang walked over slowly, tilting his head at Sokka. "How is she?"

Sokka looked up at Aang and exhaled. "Not as bad as Lo'nee. She's breathing fine, and she doesn't seem too badly injured. I think it's just a concussion. Knowing Toph she should pull out of it soon enough. How's the Captain?"

Aang sat down across from Sokka. "Bad. Really bad. It didn't hit her heart, so she's alive for now, but who knows how long her body can hold up. Katara and that kid are doing the best they can, but it doesn't seem to be doing much." Aang looked over his shoulder. He could tell just by the way Ozrin had acted when they first met that he wasn't one to openly show his emotions, but even the strong earth bender looked highly concerned for his leader. Aang shook his head and looked back at Sokka. "What will they do if she dies?"

Sokka shook his head. "I don't know. It's hard to say but--" He stopped mid-sentence as Toph shifted her weight, gave a painful groan, and rest her forehead in her hand.

"Ugh... What happened?" She looked around, even though she knew her eyes were useless. It was just an instinctual reaction to waking up in a setting other than the one she'd gone out in. "Where are we? Did we win?"

"Oh thank the spirits, you're awake!" Sokka hugged Toph, writing the need to do so as no more than relief that his friend was all right. He then frowned at her questions. "We're back at the base, and no. We didn't win."

Toph tried to keep from getting too flustered by the hug and keep herself focused on what she had just learned. "What happened?"

"Azula hit Lo'nee. She used lightning." Sokka had to pause for a minute, shutting his eyes tightly. Even though Aang had said it, he didn't want to admit out loud that the one who'd lifted all of his guilt from his shoulders might suddenly be gone. But as the moments passed and Toph became more aware of her surroundings, she figured it out for herself.

"Her heart beat is slow." Toph frowned. "I can barely feel it. I can feel everyone else fine, but the vibrations coming from her are so weak." Toph shuddered, then winced and tried to force her own pain out of her mind. "She's fighting to stay alive."


	4. To The Edge Of The Sea

**Chapter 4 – To The Edge Of The Sea**

It had been three days since the fight against Azula. Lo'nee still hadn't woken up, and Jing still hadn't come back. Katara and Lee had done all they could to heal Lo'nee. At this point all anyone could do was wait.

Katara had also healed Toph as best she could. The earth bender was still a little sore, but no worse for the wear. Even so, she stuck close to Sokka, and the two of them did their best to stay out of the way of the freedom fighters. After three days though, Toph got up, walking to where Ozrin was keeping watch over the Captain. Sokka followed after her, wondering what she was up to. This also caught the attention of everyone else, who turned their attention to her.

"Her heartbeat's stabling out," Toph informed them. "I think she's coming around." And as if on cue, Lo'nee gave a very painful groan and tried to sit up. Ozrin carefully set her upright and let her use him for balance. Lo'nee opened her eyes and looked around, still somewhat in a daze.

Thule and Lee pushed through the crowd, hugging Lo'nee as soon as they got through. They had been crying almost nonstop since Ozrin had brought Lo'nee home. "Captain! You're awake!"

"Are you okay, Captain?" Thule looked up at her. Lo'nee flinched at the pressure on her sore body, but smiled and wrapped her arms around the boys.

"Well, I'm not dead. I guess that's better than the alternative." The boys clung to her at the mention of death. Lo'nee sighed and smiled a little. "I'll be fine boys, don't worry. Come on now, no more crying. I'm fine. Really."

That was when it clicked in Sokka's head. To these people, Lo'nee was more than just their captain. To a lot of them, especially to two young boys, she was a mother-figure. This was more than a group of people fighting together for a common cause, this was a family. Sokka looked at Toph, then over at Aang and Katara. It was a lot like his family.

"You're all still here?" Sokka snapped back to reality and looked over at Lo'nee.

"We couldn't just leave without knowing if you'd be all right." Katara frowned. "We were afraid you wouldn't make it. Lee and I did our best as far as healing, but I'm not sure how much good it did."

Lo'nee smiled. "Good kids, the four of you. I appreciate your concern." The details of the battle began coming back to her, and Lo'nee tilted her head at Toph. "How are you? You were injured as well, weren't you?"

Toph blinked. "Me? Oh, I'm fine... It wasn't that bad of an injury." She waved it off. "Can't say it's the first time I've gotten hit in the back with a big rock." She did still hurt, but she didn't want any attention over it. She knew Lo'nee was far worse off than she was.

"Good." Lo'nee tried to stand, failed, and got a stern look from Ozrin. "I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself if I let my guests get hurt." She looked over the group around her and did a quick count. "...Where is Jing?"

"He didn't come back with us after the fight." Thule frowned.

"Hasn't come back since then either," Lee added, looking as worried as his brother. Lo'nee exhaled and nodded, deciding against vocalizing her concerns. She knew Jing showed all of his emotions on his face. Lo'nee was worried that he had been found out. Ozrin gently gave her shoulders a squeeze, letting her know he shared her concern. Lo'nee turned her attention back on the Avatar and his friends.

"I highly suggest that by tomorrow morning, you move on," she spoke calmly, "I am afraid that something will happen, and in my condition I cannot do much to lead in a fight and I don't think I can bring myself to be responsible for the four of you if I can't get up and fight with my own two hands."

Sokka opened his mouth to protest, but Toph put her arm out and nodded. "We understand." Toph knew she wasn't the leader, and that it wasn't her place to say it, but she did know that she understood what was going through Lo'nee's head. Toph had had the same revelation as Sokka, and she wanted to lift any weight of of Lo'nee's shoulders that she could. She tilted her head at Aang. "Isn't that right?"

"Huh?" Aang looked over at Toph and blinked. "Oh, yeah." He nodded. "We understand."

Lo'nee smiled. "Good kids." She let go of Thule and Lee and shifted her weight. "Well, please make yourselves at home until morning. If you need anything just let someone know."

Aang nodded. "We will. C'mon guys. Let's get Appa ready." Aang took Katara by the wrist and led her back to Appa. Sokka took Toph by the shoulder and followed behind them. Katara looked over at Aang.

"Are you sure it's okay to just leave?" Katara frowned.

"We don't have a choice, Katara. This is _her_ home, and she asked us nicely to leave. I think she's going to have enough trouble keeping things in order here without having us to worry about, too."

"But she doesn't need to--"

"Lo'nee isn't the type to let others take care of her," Toph interrupted. "She'll hide her pain as much as she can so that no one worries about her. She is determined to be the strength of this group, so she'll pretend she's okay even if she's not so that they don't worry." Toph crossed her arms. "Hopefully she won't push herself too hard."

"I think even if she wants to, Ozrin at the very least won't let her." Sokka looked over his shoulder to where Ozrin and the boys were trying to prevent Lo'nee from trying to get up again.

Katara nodded, sitting down on her sleeping bag. "I'm just concerned that something will happen once we leave. Azula's still here, and she might find them."

"They'll be fine." Sokka assured her, "They're smart people. They won't let themselves get caught. Now just some rest. It's getting late. Most of our supplies are already packed up. I'll take care of the rest of it. I haven't gotten much exercise in the past couple of days anyway."

"I'll help," Toph added. "I can --"

"You're as bad as Lo'nee. I can tell you're still hurting, I can see it on your face when you walk. Go lie down." Sokka frowned at her, even though he knew she couldn't see it. Toph opened her mouth to argue, but Sokka cut her off again. "Toph, please, just take it easy for now." The young earth bender huffed and flopped down beside Appa, wincing when she remembered that her back was sore. As much as she wanted to help, she knew better than to argue with Sokka when he had made up his mind.

Sokka began packing the rest of their supplies, keeping an eye on the others until he knew they were all asleep. He then put down what he was doing and walked over to where Ozrin was forcing Lo'nee to stay where she was and not try to attend to her regular duties. The water bender tilted her head at Sokka before, with much effort, turning her body toward him completely with a forced, painful smile. "You and your friends were very brave."

"This isn't the first time we've fought Azula." Sokka frowned, sitting down. "And I severely doubt it will be the last." Lo'nee nodded slightly, coughing into her hand.

"I apologize." Lo'nee frowned. "I dropped my guard, and because of that I made you all worry for me. What's worse is that someone else could have been hurt instead of me." She let her weight fall back on Ozrin

Sokka shook his head. "Don't be sorry. We should have been more careful. I should have been keeping a better eye on what was going on." He looked down at the ground. "If I had, Toph wouldn't have gotten hurt, and then neither would you."

"You're doing it again." Lo'nee gave Sokka a stern look. "You're taking the weight of the world on your shoulders, even though it's not something you could have prevented."

"You're one to talk." Sokka returned her stern glare. "Hiding how much pain your in so that no one will worry. You're doing the same thing I am, just with physical pain."

Lo'nee blinked, then smiled shaking her head. "Oh dear, it looks like you've figured me out, Sokka." She laughed a bit. "You're such a smart boy. I don't see why you think you need me to give you all the answers."

"I thought you said you couldn't see the future. How did you know that I came over here to ask you something?" Sokka frowned.

Lo'nee closed her eyes, settling back against Ozrin's shoulder. "I don't need any form of clairvoyance to know what you came over here for. It's all over your face. But please, do feel free to ask, as I've already come up with quite the witty response."

Sokka frowned, breaking eye contact once again. "I was wondering if... maybe you had any idea who the person you mentioned before is. The new love that I'm supposed to find."

Lo'nee smiled at him, in spite of his confused expression and the pain in her chest. "If I told you, that would take all the fun out of finding it for yourself. Though, really, if you can't see it, perhaps you're as blind as your earth bender friend." She shook her head delicately with a small laugh. "Finish packing and get some sleep, Sokka. I need my rest as well."

"We'll come back." Sokka got up, forcing a smile at the fallen leader. "We'll find help, and we'll come back. The more people we have fighting Azula the more likely we are to win."

Lo'nee nodded lightly. "Take your time. We'll monitor her, and we won't let her get out of hand." She coughed into her hands painfully. "We've held her off for this long, I don't see why any longer would hurt."

"Take care of your family." Sokka turned to head back to Katara, Aang, and Toph, waving over his shoulder. "And don't be afraid to let them take care of you."

Lo'nee laughed softly. "All right, I'll try." Sokka nodded, heading back to the group, sitting down beside Toph where she'd fallen asleep. He looked around and grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around the sore Earth Bender. With that he began going through the list of people they had encountered in their travels who would be able to help.

Toph stirred at the unfamiliar weight of the blanket as it was wrapped around her and opened her eyes, readjusting herself to the vibrations in the room around her, tilting her head toward Sokka as she realized he was right next to her. She rubbed her eyes a little. "Sokka? What's wrong?"

Sokka looked over at Toph. "Huh? Oh... Nothing. Sorry if I woke you up."

"Huh? Oh no it's okay..." Toph shook her head and smiled. "It seems like all I've been doing lately is sleeping." She shifted her weight and blinked, realizing there was a blanket around her. "Where did this come from?"

"Oh... Er... You looked cold." Sokka scratched the back of his head, glad that Toph couldn't see how embarrassed he was. He couldn't say exactly why he was embarrassed, but he knew that he was. "How's your back? Are you feeling better?"

Toph hunched over, trying to hide how red her face was getting. "I-It's fine. As long as I take it easy for a while I'll be okay. You don't need to worry about me, Sokka." She pulled the blanket around herself, ignoring how much leaning forward the way she was caused her back to ache. Sokka frowned and put his hand on her shoulder, gently pushing her to sit back. Toph looked in Sokka's direction. "What are we going to do?"

Sokka exhaled, leaning back against Appa. "I don't know. I was thinking that maybe we should go and look for help. The more people we have, the easier it will be to fight Azula."

"The more people we have, the harder it will be to get in unnoticed," Toph reminded Sokka. He exhaled and nodded in agreement, forgetting briefly that she couldn't see it.

"Er.. Right." He sighed heavily and leaned back against Appa.

"Hey, Sokka?" Toph bit her lip.

"What is it? You okay?" Sokka looked over at Toph.

Toph nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that... A few days ago I got really angry at you for no reason. I'm... sorry for that." She curled up in the blanket and frowned. "I guess I was just feeling moody or something."

Sokka tilted his heat, trying to recall the incident she was talking about. "Oh, you mean when I was talking about my conversation with Lo'nee? It's not a big deal. It wasn't a great time to bring it up anyway, what with just finding out about Azula's plans for attack. We were all a little stressed over it." Sokka smiled. "No hard feelings."

Toph nodded, smiling, glad to know Sokka wasn't mad at her for snapping at him. She wanted to tell him why she'd really gotten angry, that it was because she wanted to be as important to him as Suki and Yue had been, but she didn't feel that it was the time.

"Hey, Toph?" Sokka looked out at the room where the Freedom Fighters were resting. "Can I talk to you about something? It's been on my mind the past couple of days, and I think I'd rather talk to you about it than Aang or Katara."

Toph stiffened. "S-Sure! You know me!" She laughed awkwardly. "Toph, listener extraordinaire." Inwardly, Toph was wondering if she could collapse the cave in on herself. Sokka tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling.

"Well... A couple of days ago, Lo'nee talked to me about Yue and Suki." Sokka took a deep breath. "And about all of my guilt. She said that Yue and Suki aren't mad at me because I couldn't protect them, and that I shouldn't blame myself that they both died."

"Aang, Katara, and I have been telling you that for years." Toph frowned.

Sokka nodded. "I know. I know. I guess it just took someone who wasn't there to tell me. Hearing it from an unbiased source helped, I guess. But then she told me some other things."

"Other things?" Toph exhaled. "What sort of other things?" She wanted to examine Sokka's face while he talked. She wanted to be able to tell his mood by something other than his voice. Though, the more she thought about it, she realized she didn't really know what his face looked like at all.

"Well... She started talking about love as an energy, and how I'm supposed to look for it somewhere else now." Sokka shrugged. "She said it's right in front of me, but I'm not seeing it."

Toph buried her face in her arms, hiding within her blanket. "I... I don't know. Maybe she was talking about your family or something." She couldn't let Sokka see her like this. She may have been blind, but Sokka sure wasn't.

Sokka frowned at her. "Are you okay?"

Toph flinched, nodding quickly. "Y-Yeah! I'm just... Just tired!" She shifted away from Sokka and shut her eyes tightly. "Y-You just think more about getting help against fighting Azula."

"All right." Sokka smiled. "Are you sure you're okay?" He leaned over, trying to get a look at her face.

"I'm fine!" Toph shoved him back with a frustrated huff. "Geez! What's with you today? When'd you decided to get all clingy?" She curled up against Appa's leg, keeping her back to Sokka. That was way too close.

Come morning the group was awoken by Thule and Lee at the word that breakfast was ready. They joined the other Freedom Fighters at the fire pit, with the exception of Lo'nee and Ozrin. Aang got some food for Appa and Momo, bringing it back to them before sitting down to eat himself.

"So." Sokka looked around at the recovering fighters. "We were thinking of looking for help, and then coming back to fight Azula once we've recovered and have some more allies."

"We are?" Aang blinked over at Sokka. "When did we decide that?"

Sokka looked at Aang. "Oh... Toph and I were talking about it last night. If we had enough people fighting Azula it would be easier, right?"

Aang scratched the back of his head. "Well... you do have a good point. And we have met a lot of people that would probably help us if we asked." The air bender smiled. "All right! That sounds like a good plan!"

Thule and Lee looked over at Aang. "So you're gonna come back?" Thule blinked. Aang nodded.

"We'll be back once we have an army of our own." Aang smiled, resuming eating. Lee smiled and lifted his head, looking over at Lo'nee. The Captain raised her eyes and looked at the group around the fire pit with a smile, giving Lee a small nod. She then resumed trying to convince Ozrin that she didn't need his help to eat.

Once breakfast was done, Aang and Sokka finished packing up the remainder of their belongings onto Appa. Katara took Toph to say their goodbyes to Lo'nee and the other Freedom fighters. "Are you sure you'll be okay here?" Katara frowned.

Lo'nee nodded, trying not to let her pain show on her face. "I'll be fine. It'll be a long road to recovery." She tilted her head at Ozrin, and then at the twins who'd curled up next to her. "But it's not like I have to do it alone."

Katara nodded and gave a smile. "Right, right." She looked over at Toph. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." Toph nodded, hands resting on her hips. "Lo'nee?"

"Yes, dear?" Lo'nee looked over at Toph.

"Thank you... for the help you gave Sokka." She tilted her head back a bit. "He's dumb as dirt, so he can't figure it out on his own, but at least he'll stop whining about Yue and Suki now."

Lo'nee laughed a bit. "Yes well, men can tend to be that way. I leave him in your hands now." She then coughed a bit, and Ozrin began to fuss over her. Toph turned around as Aang and Katara walked over.

"All right, we're all set," Sokka informed the girls. "Looks like it's time to go." He looked over at Lo'nee. "Take care of yourself."

"The same to you." Lo'nee settled down again. "We look forward to your return." Sokka grinned and gave her a mock salute before the four returned to Appa. Edju got up from where he'd now finished eating and bent a path open for them to leave. Once they were outside the all climbed on Appa, taking a last look at the hidden base of Ba Sing Se's Freedom Fighters, and took off toward the south.


End file.
